Program aims to improve literacy
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WARREN -- Throughout the summer, Warren City School District children have been attending a special program each Thursday at the Highland Terrace Community Center to prepare for the upcoming school year.
The Pride and Joy Foundation has hosted the literacy improvement program to help children be ready for the new school year that begins for many districts in the upcoming weeks.
She'Ree Glover, president of the Pride and Joy Foundation, said 40 children in elementary and middle school gathered each week at the center where teachers worked with different age groups on knowing how to say words and what they mean.
She said the program has partnered with the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library to prepare children for the district spelling bee Nov. 5.
"Throughout the summer, teachers and other volunteers have worked with children on sight words. The children will continue this fall to practice the sight words and their spellings to prepare for the spelling bee," Glover said.
She said she wants each child to be grade appropriate for the school grade they are entering this year and also be able to pass the state mandated reading tests.
"That third grade test is a concern for many children. We are proactively working with them to overcome any learning barriers in literacy. This is our effort to provide intervention,'' Glover said.
She said starting in September, the children will be able to attend a program from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays at the library, where they will continue literacy learning.
She said the grade-level sight word workshop is designed for small group learning with different activities and reading aids.
Ellis Anthony, a Warren teacher for 20 years, said as one of the instructors of the program, he hopes the children who took part in the summer program will continue their educational journey in the school year.
"Too often, children fall into an educational loophole over the summer and do not retain all they learned from the last school year. This reading program and their collaboration with other students is helping them to be prepared for the next year. I have seen so many of them improve this summer," Anthony said.
He said he feels students are identifying and saying new words and reading at their grade level.
"You can see how they put words and sounds together and are able to partner read,'' Anthony said.
He said parents who drop off their children said they are glad the program exists.
Alexandra Benson, a parent, who brings her 5-year-old daughter to the program, said she saw information about it and felt it would help her daughter become more socialized with other children and more prepared for kindergarten.
"My daughter is quite articulate and will say the words back to you. She tells me she loves being part of this. She reads with the group and also led a song once for the group," Benson said.
She said she helps her daughter with words and sounds at home.
Teacher Jennifer Smith, one of the instructors, said each child is smart and excels in a special way. She works with students in grades fourth to seventh.
"It is very rewarding to be part of this because the children light up when they know their words. They have smiles on their faces when they see the word and spell it. We work with sight words because that is how children remember and prepare,'' Smith said.
CHILDREN PARTICIPANTS
John Greer, 12, a seventh grader, said as one of the older participants, he is able to work with and assist the younger children with their words and pronunciations. He said he holds flashcards with words on them and has the children practice saying each word.
Amy Holiness Moore, 11, a student who will be at Jefferson School this year, said she likes being able to work in small groups with other children her age and learning new words.
"I think I am able to say words and spell them better. I like how I have improved at school and want to be in the spelling bee," she said.
She said this is the second year she has been in the summer literacy program.
"I passed my grade at school and did well on my state tests. I feel I have grown by being part of this," she said.